IEUA supports farmers’ unions in Timor-Leste

IEFS alumni young farmers have established an ecotourism initiative at Ermera.

Community leader Lourenco Pereira.

Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA has supported Timor-Leste farmers to organise and advocate for their rights since 2016.

By establishing and strengthening unions, farmers gain access to land, develop sustainable farming techniques and build collective power.

The IEU has proudly supported the project since 2016 alongside the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, United Workers Union, CoPower and members of APHEDA.

Timor-Leste has one of the youngest populations in the world – more than 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 25.

Many young people are lured away from their communities for work in the capital Dili or overseas.

Young Timorese come to Australia as seasonal workers to work on farms. APHEDA’s partner organisations – Instituto Edukasaun Popular (IEP), Kdadalak Sulimutuk Institute (KSI) and Uniaun Agrikultores Ermera (UNAER) – want to reverse this trend.

One of the ways they are doing this is by training farmers and building their knowledge in a school run “by peasant farmers, for peasant farmers”.

IEFS farmers and union leaders at a farm.

A school for farmers

On a recent personal visit to Timor, IEU digital manager Katie Camarena met community leaders and alumni from the Solidarity Economy Institute (IEFS).

“With UNAER, the school is bringing marginalised young people and providing education for them to build their knowledge of sustainable farming practices and agro-ecology,” said one community leader.

“We didn’t have access to university due to financial constraints. But now we are learning farming techniques and focusing on nature. We are committed to bringing this knowledge back to our communities,” a student said.

The popular education school supports students through a Community Bachelor’s Degree program, which aims to inspire young people to stay in rural areas and help develop their communities. IEFS’s goal is to ensure future farmer leaders are well prepared and networked across the country.

Community and union leaders with IEFS alumni.

Fighting social injustice through solidarity

Leaders of IEP, KSI and UNAER spoke passionately about their work strengthening farmers’ unions, while farmers discussed the challenges of growing coffee and the chain of exploitation in the current market.

“Before we joined UNAER, we lived with uncertainty,” farmer and community leader Lourenco Pereira said.

“But now we have formed a cooperative. Divided we are weak but together, farmers are stronger. We must continue to network and build our strength and solidarity so we can fight against those who exploit.”

Lourenco said local companies buy coffee at low prices and sell at a high price, excluding farmers from making a profit.

These companies spread misinformation about the true price of coffee to deceive farmers, who find themselves victims of exploitation.

Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA is supporting farmers in Timor Leste to respond to injustice in the coffee supply chain.

The “Supporting and strengthening rural farmers’ organisations in Timor-Leste” project assisted farmers to establish the Solidarity Economy Federation – a network of 14 farmers’ cooperatives representing 368 coffee-growing households.

The federation focuses on building and training cooperatives to ensure quality coffee processing for fair-trade export to Australia and Japan. It empowers coffee farmers through ethical trade, social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

'' We can't buy happiness. But we can buy happiness through coffee.''

Keep the change: Unionists building ethical supply chains

Over the past few years, Australian and Timorese unionists have set up the Keep the Change initiative via Earthworker to establish a progressive coffee distribution network.

The aim is to sell coffee to Australians for a just price with conditions of sale that give Timorese coffee growers more effective and collective control over their incomes.

This initiative aims to bypass the for-profit monopoly supply chains that dominate the current market.

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APHEDA is the global justice organisation of the Australian union movement. Join now: apheda.org.au/join